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Golden Triangle (Part I)
"Golden Triangle (Part I)", also known as "Score", is the thirteenth episode of Miami Vice's first season. The episode premiered on January 11, 1985. Summary Crockett and Tubbs are working a extortion scam by bad cops when they stumble upon an Asian plot to smuggle people, including Castillo's former enemy, into Miami. Plot Assigned to hotel security, Crockett and Tubbs break up a fight between a couple, with the man on PCP. They get the man calmed down, but when they try to handcuff him the woman starts attacking them, agitating the man again and forcing them to subdue him. Crockett and Tubbs want off the detail, but Castillo needs them there to locate bad cops who are extorting high priced hookers in the hotel. He wants not just their badges, but jail time as well. Crockett is disguised as a nerdy tourist sitting poolside when a woman stops by, wanting him to put oil on her back. After she offers $50 for a session, Crockett shows his badge and takes her in. They find her name is Candy James (Robin Johnson) and she has a rap sheet, mainly in prostitution. The Vice cops suspect two cops, Garcia and Ross, to be dirty, and Candy agrees to Crockett and Tubbs being her pimps in exchange for a total walk, if they can find them. They go back to the hotel and a man shows up, wanting to rent a safety deposit box. While Crockett and Tubbs continue to work their pimp cover, two men observe them, one of whom is the man who rented a safe deposit box. Candy leaves the hotel, followed by a police car and tailed by Crockett and Tubbs. The police car pulls Candy over and the officers (Ross and Garcia) demand not only $500 per week, but also Crockett and Tubbs. The bad cops smack Candy around, which is enough for their arrest and prosecution. The D.A. gets them out of jail within an hour after IAD turns them over, angering Crockett. On the St. Vitus Dance, while Crockett files Elvis' nails, the two men from earlier stop by, wanting to make a deal regarding the safe deposit box. Turns out one of the men is Albert Szarbo (John Snyder), who has every felony on the book except robbery. Castillo decides to go along for the time being. Back at the hotel, Crockett spots Candy hooking again (after they cleared her record), but when Crockett sees that her client is Szarbo he fears she will blow their cover. Candy brings them Szarbo's car keys and they go check out his trunk. They find B&E equipment and a bill to a sleazy hotel. Crockett and Tubbs want Candy out of Miami. Szarbo stops by and takes all of them for a walk, and they cross paths with Detective Ross, but Candy lies that she turned him in to the cops, which retains their cover. Szarbo tells them of his plan to break into the hotel safety deposit boxes for a 60/40 split, but needs solo access to the boxes. Once that happens, his Asian counterpart brings over a random number generator to gain entry without tripping any alarms and all the boxes are opened (though they told Crockett and Tubbs they would give them notice); however, jewelry or other expensive items are left alone. Szarbo and his Asian partner are looking at the score, talking about "papers," when a masked man busts in and kills both. Crockett and Tubbs go to Ross' house, who says that the two men were already dead when he got there. At OCB the squad reviews what happened; when Switek and Zito mention that Szarbo's Asian partner was Thai (based on his arm tattoo), Castillo is angered that no one told him, goes to the coroner and sees the mutilation done to the bodies - a warning to anyone not to make the same mistake the dead did, as they defied an important man. Castillo saw this in Asia while trying to get General Lao Li, a Nationalist Chinese drug dealer, and the papers were schedules of some kind. Castillo, Crockett and Tubbs scout every Thai and Asian restaurant in the area looking for recent immigrants. At the last Thai restaurant they visit, they find and flush out the assassin, who fights off Tubbs; Castillo chases him down and defeats him in a martial arts battle, but the assassin commits suicide by swallowing his tongue. Castillo determines the "papers" are immigration visas and that General Lao Li is moving his operation to Miami. He receives a package from Lao Li with a picture of May Ying, his wife. Cast *Don Johnson as Metro-Dade Detective James "Sonny" Crockett *Philip Michael Thomas as Metro-Dade Detective Ricardo "Rico" Tubbs *Saundra Santiago as Metro-Dade Detective Gina Calabrese *Michael Talbott as Metro-Dade Detective Stan Switek *John Diehl as Metro-Dade Detective Larry Zito *Olivia Brown as Metro-Dade Detective Trudy Joplin *Edward James Olmos as Metro-Dade Lieutenant Martin "Marty" Castillo Guest Stars *John Snyder as Albert Szarbo *Robin Johnson as Candy James Co-Starring *Paul Austin as Det. Herb Ross *C. Andrew Davis as The Doper *Gary Jellum as Det. Dan Garcia *Paul Tenn as Siamese Assassin Notes * This episode was originally called "Score" when it aired, but the name was changed to "Golden Triangle" in syndication, which has remained on the DVD releases and on Hulu. The font style is different for the guest stars and writers than the rest of the opening credits, and for some of the closing credits too. * We learn that Castillo worked undercover for the DEA for three years, in Southeast Asia between Burma and Thailand, and he is very skilled in martial arts. Production Notes *Filmed: October 29, 1984 - November 6, 1984 *Production Number: 59511 *Production Order: 11 Filming Locations * Maximo Gomez Park, SW 8th Street, Miami ( Crockett/Tubbs meet Castillo) * Turnberry Isle Condo 19707 Turnberry Way, Aventura (Crockett/Tubbs in hotel and Candy at pool with Crockett) * Side street 1200 Ocean Drive (Ross/Garcia corner Candy) * 2250 NE 163rd Street (Castillo/Crockett/Tubbs search in restaurant for Thai assassin) Music *"Great Balls of Fire" by Dolly Parton (at pool) Jan Hammer Music *"Candy" (opening scene in hotel) Quotes *"Do you need more oil, or are you greased up enough, honey?" -- Crockett to Candy after revealing he is Vice *"They didn't want to kill him, they wanted to kill him!". -- Switek talking about Szarbo's death Category:Miami Vice Season 1 Episodes